My mother’s best advice: wear bold, bright colours

My mother urged me to wear an array of colours, saying they express how you feel and matter to the soul. That advice landed awkwardly in adolescence; I preferred disappearing into baggy, all-black sport-core and cringed when she pushed loud hues on shopping trips, talking about mood-lifting lilacs, energising reds and skin-warming oranges.

She practised what she preached: a parrot-green leather coat, a ridiculously frilly orange-and-black dressing gown, big printed dresses that made her look like one of Hockney’s kaftan-clad women, and tropical-print trousers that made her seem like a walking fruit bowl.

I worried about what other people would say, but gradually understood the point was not to impress anyone else; it was about dressing from the inside. In my early 20s I started asking myself each morning, 'What colour do I feel like wearing today?' — a simple question that brings surprising self-awareness about mood and whether I want to be seen or to hide.

bold colours, bright colours, mood lifting, loud hues, sport-core, all-black, parrot-green, leather coat, tropical print, self awareness